Strong Butt, Happy Life

Just in time for the thousands of folks preparing to run the ING New York City Marathon this weekend comes this sage observation, courtesy of an article on Reuters.com:

"If you can run a marathon you have a really good cardiovascular fitness level."

You read it on Reuters first, folks.

This quote -- from Dr. Henry Williford of the American College of Sports Medicine -- is just one of several illuminating tidbits from the article, titled For Marathon Fitness, the Readiness Is All, whose basic message is: If you want to run a marathon, you really should consider getting in shape first.

Aha! So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong all these years!

Okay, okay. In all fairness, I'm taking the "cardiovascular" quote out of context. The second half has Dr. Williford saying, "But unless you do some sort of resistance/weight training your muscle strength is not as good."

Which is true enough. Unless you count raking leaves and toting the baby around, I do virtually no resistance/weight training, and my upper body shows it. (See: Oyl, Olive.)

Still, the article does go on to deliver other gems. My favorite has got to be this one:

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"A strong butt is a key to a happy life."

Ain't that the truth.

Okay, so I'm taking that quote out of context as well. But not by much. Here's the full quote, from one Dr. Jordan D. Metzl, a sports medicine physician:

"I preach preparing your body by cross-training. Strength training, jumping, landing. I always say if you want to keep running, a strong butt is a key to a happy life."

Actually, I think I prefer the out-of-context version: A strong butt is a key to a happy life. The simplicity is just so appealing.

So to all you soon-to-be NYC Marathoners out there: Rest up this week. Visualize success. And keep those butts strong.

Mark RemyMark Remy has been with Runner’s World since January 2007—for the first 5 ½ years as executive editor of RunnersWorld.com, and currently as a writer at large.

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